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DISPLAYING POSTS TAGGED: mudswitch (1)

Sometimes exhibition development can take a surprising turn. Last week, Aunty Esther Kirby, a Barapaparapa Elder, brought branches of lignum and mud from the banks of the Murray River to demonstrate a traditional Koorie children's toy called a mudswitch. Aunty Esther is a renowned carver of emu eggs but it turns out she is also a phenomenal flinger of mud!

Aunty Esther is a member of the Yulendj group that is guiding and advising the Bunjilaka development team as they work on the new exhibition, First Peoples. Yulendj is a Kulin word for 'knowledge' and the group comprises Koorie Elders from south-eastern Australia. It was formed out of the community consultations held all around Victoria in 2010 and 2011.

Says curator Amanda Reynolds, "If you think about traditional culture, when big meetings and gatherings were held to talk about relationships between groups, or marriages or ceremonies, or teachings, Elders would gather and make decisions and present different views. Yulendj is a modern-day version of an ancient tradition."

Yulendj members spent three days at Melbourne Museum last week in the fourth intensive workshop about the exhibition’s content, tone, and cultural permissions. "It's like asking 20 academics to come and contribute all their knowledge that’s been built up over a lifetime – you can imagine the richness of knowledge and history that’s coming out," says Amanda.

Over the three days, Yulendj members viewed objects selected for display in the new exhibition, provided oral histories, collaborated on designs for the exhibition's texture wall, talked about how certain objects should be displayed, and more. At the end of the workshop, Aunty Esther showed how to use the mudswitches out on the Melbourne Museum Plaza. She proved herself an expert mudswitcher, flinging balls of Murray mud much higher and further than anyone else. "She’s got the best swing," says curator Genevieve Grieves. Stories of childhood mudswitching mischief came out, including recollections of hiding in the reeds to shoot mud at tourists riding in the river's paddle steamers.

Yulendj members and Museum Victoria staff on the plaza with mudswitches.Image: Amanda ReynoldsSource: Museum Victoria

Mudswitches will be part of a section of the exhibition called Toy Stories, which will display a range of toys used by Aboriginal children across Australia. This playful section, with its animations and low-set display cases, will specially cater for very young visitors.